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In electric guitars, relicing (also written as relic'ing) is the process of distressing a guitar to mimic the worn appearance and played-in feel of older guitars, some models of which have become highly sought-after—akin to religious relics.^[1] Relicing is done to both new guitars by their manufacturer, typically as aged replicas, and to used guitars by their owners as DIY projects.^[2] Types of wear emulated can include faded or worn finishes (revealing the underlying wood grain), tarnished hardware, and scrapes, dents, and stains. There is no established methodology to intentionally aging a guitar. The process can include tools as varied as sandpaper, steel wool, bathroom cleaner, coffee, razor blades, and hair dryers, among other things.^[1]

Adrian Belew, while in Frank Zappa's band in the 1970s, later suggested he owned the first relic'd guitar, a brown sunburst Fender Stratocaster. Dismayed by its unsightly finish, Belew turned the guitar over to his friend Seymour Duncan, who proceeded to "age" the guitar through methods such as rubbing motor oil into the neck, dragging it across a lawn, and lighting it on fire.^[3] Similarly, Julian Lage recalled aging a Telecaster when he was younger—"before relic'ing was a thing"—via means like working nail polish into the frets and throwing the guitar against a curb.^[4]

Fender began developing the idea of relic'ing guitars in 1989 after JW Black, a builder in the company's Custom Shop, saw an aged Strat a friend had made and showed it to his boss, John Page.^[1] In 1994, Fender's Custom Shop produced a "beat up" bass for Keith Richards, who gifted it to Don Was after Was had mused over why armoires could be antiqued but guitars could not.^[5] Black suggested producing a "Relic" line of guitars from the Custom Shop and Page agreed. Fender initially produced two 1950s-era examples, a "Nocaster" and a blonde-bodied Strat, and displayed them at the 1995 NAMM show, initially fooling passersby who thought the guitars original. Enthusiasm over the concept led to high demand from the Custom Shop, which began producing their "Relic" line with a Nocaster and '50s and '60s-era Strat models, and then later a '60s Jazz Bass.^[1]

In 1999, Gibson released an aged version of the Les Paul '59 Reissue with the help of Tom Murphy, who had earlier left Gibson to set up a vintage guitar restoration company. Murphy alters each guitar by hand so that its painted colors appeared faded, the lacquer dulled, and hardware tarnished, among other changes. Atypical tools Murphy uses include old car keys and a railroad spike he uses to alter the texture on the back of guitar necks.^[6] Gibson's Custom Shop later took over the aging process under Murphy, with its first in-house aged model being Eric Clapton's signature ES-335, released in 2005. Since 2006, Gibson has marketed their aged finishes as "Vintage Old Spec" (VOS).^[1] Gibson uses VOS finishes for other signature models based on older guitars, such as Billy Gibbons' "Pearly Gates" '59 Les Paul.^[6]

Many luthiers offer relicing guitars as a service.^[1]

Murphy theorized the popularity of relic'd or aged guitars is due to the increasing scarcity and high prices of vintage guitars, while Guitar World wrote that they are an attractive alternative to getting the look and feel of vintage guitars without the risk of being sold an expensive guitar of questionable authenticity.^[1] Music Radar noted that while most of the attention a relic'd guitar gets is for its aged appearance, the "played-in" feel of the guitar is sometimes its biggest attraction, with the effect being most notable on the neck.^[7]